Bread machines are great. I haven't bought a loaf of bread in about three years. If #sonTwo's bread machine has custom settings, I recommend 20 min knead time, changing the rise times (1hr, 1.5hrs, 1.5hrs) and at least 60-70 min bake time. A good recipe is 1 cup water, 2.5 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tbsp wheat gluten, 1 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp oil, and a generous 1/2 tsp dry yeast. Although "hard flour for bread" (with all the natural gluten) is recommended, I use all-purpose flour (with about half the natural gluten removed), then adding about 1 tbsp of "vital wheat gluten". Cake and pastry flour have most of the natural gluten removed, so I've never even tried it.